Director Bong and Park Seong-ho had left for Cadiz, where the production team was staying, an hour ago. Seo Jun had sent the two men to the shooting location a few days earlier to have some private time with So Yeon.

And that wasn’t all. He had also prohibited all the servants from entering the mansion for the next two days, including today and tomorrow. Therefore, for these three days, only Seo Jun and So Yeon were in the mansion.

It was almost noon, having breezed through the morning hours.

Seo Jun had prepared brunch in the kitchen and brought it to the bedroom, considering that So Yeon, who had stayed awake until dawn, had only fallen asleep in the morning.

The meal included a salad, seafood tomato stew, whole wheat bread with cheese and ham, and fresh fruit juice. The food on the bed tray looked delicious.

So Yeon, just learning they were alone in the mansion, looked at the food he had prepared with a somewhat amazed expression.

“Did you make all this?”

As she asked, Seo Jun, sitting opposite her, leisurely dipped bread into the tomato stew and answered simply.

“Meal kit.”

“Wow! They have those in Spain?”

“They might, but this was prepared in advance as per my instructions to the kitchen.”

“Ah, of course…”

Typically meticulous, she thought, leaving the rest unsaid and chuckling lightly. So Yeon enjoyed the salad, crunching it delightfully.

“How about your cooking skills, So Yeon?”

“I’ve been living alone for a few years.”

“Confident, huh? I’d like to try something you’ve made.”

“Maybe… if the opportunity arises…”

Though he might have said it casually, So Yeon, feeling as if she had received a proposal, awkwardly trailed off.

Since arriving in Spain, she had been constantly with Seo Jun. Today, they had woken up in the same space, and now they were having lunch together in this sun-filled, exotic bedroom.

The atmosphere was exhilarating, making her feel as if she was on a honeymoon.

But it was only a pleasant fantasy.

So Yeon suddenly remembered the nightmare she had earlier.

She was leisurely playing with her son, Hyun Woo, in a garden blooming with flowers. But suddenly, Seo Jun and his family appeared and took Hyun Woo into the portrait hanging in the mansion’s central staircase.

She tried to grab her son but couldn’t. An enormous rock had suddenly pinned her lower body. Even as she struggled, Seo Jun, holding Hyun Woo tightly, coldly looked down at her.

Next to him, Yu Jeong-hwa sneered, as if mocking So Yeon for even daring to aspire to Seo Jun’s level.

Such a dream made her wonder about the stark contrast between her hopes and reality. The gap between her fantasies and her actual situation was glaringly apparent, leaving So Yeon feeling empty.

“Do you often have dreams like that?”
Seo Jun asked seriously, almost as if he had no choice. He had briefly seen a shadow of darkness cross So Yeon’s face, and it felt like it was somehow his fault. He suspected that her nightmare was not unrelated to her child’s father.

However, Eom So Yeon responded with an oblivious look.

“What do you mean?”

“Crying in your sleep.”

“Me? When? I didn’t cry.”

It was a habit, or rather, an instinct not to back down, especially regarding her child. Even though she knew she had cried and he had seen it, So Yeon casually played dumb.

“Really?”

It was obvious that both of them knew the truth, yet Seo Jun wondered why she was acting like this, asking with a smiling face. So Yeon stubbornly stuck to her story.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t.”

Even if it meant being labeled a liar, she had no choice. She feared that talking about the dream would turn it into reality, losing Hyun Woo forever.

So Yeon was terrified at the thought.

Late in the afternoon, So Yeon and Seo Jun strolled along the dimming beach.

The sand crumbled softly between their toes as they walked barefoot, leaving long footprints in the sand. The waves, rolling in, erased their tracks with white foam.

If this was her only chance to make Seo Jun her man, if pushing him away meant losing him forever, if today became a lifelong regret…

Could she bear it if he erased her from his life, like the footprints washed away by the sea?

So Yeon stopped walking and looked up at Seo Jun with a forlorn gaze.

“You said it yesterday. Do you really like me that much?”

“Why? Does it sound like a lie?”

“No, it’s just too real to believe.”

“You can come to me if you can’t bear it anymore. Eom So Yeon is always welcome.”

Almost swayed by his sweet voice, So Yeon trembled.

“Can I really do that?”

Her eyes, glistening in the red sunset, silently fixed on Seo Jun.

“Really, you’re so stubborn.”

He wanted to force her to be his woman but knew he couldn’t. Love can’t be coerced. Should he then give up on Eom So Yeon?

“No, that’s not it. I’m too stubborn myself.”

Seo Jun’s laughter carried a hint of self-mockery.

“So, you’ve started to dislike me?”

“Of course not. How about we go on a date tomorrow night?”

The sudden date invitation surprised So Yeon, lighting up her eyes. Yesterday they had gone out, but it was the first time he had called it a date.

“Where to?”

“There’s a carnival on the beach.”

“Will there be fireworks?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’d love to go!”

So Yeon clung to Seo Jun’s arm, bouncing up and down with an innocent smile.

But her heart wasn’t as light. It felt like walking on thin ice.

She had already decided.

No matter what, tomorrow she would reveal everything she had been hiding to him.

And if he still liked her despite it all, she would firmly hold his hand and go with him to the ends of the earth.